Barrow Police unveil reconstructed remains

Posted: Friday, January 07, 2000

By Ben DeckStaff Writer

WINDER -- Barrow County Sheriff's Department investigators on Thursday unveiled a bust of an unknown dead man found Dec. 9 in a wooded area near Midland Court, just southeast of Winder in Barrow County.

To make the bust, Marla Lawson, a forensic artist with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Crime Lab in Decatur, covered the man's skull with three layers of clay and then molded the facial features, according to Barrow County Sheriff Joe Robinson.

Robinson said he does not know of any other cases involving unidentified remains in Barrow County, and he does not remember any other case where skeletal remains were reconstructed.

''This is the first time in my knowledge that we've ever done this,'' he said.

Lawson is the only forensic artist who works with the GBI, and the bureau offers her services free of charge at to all law enforcement agencies in Georgia, Robinson said. Lawson has also drawn a sketch of Atlanta bombing suspect Eric Rudolph, depicting Rudolph with a scruffy beard, Robinson added.

In December, a Barrow County man gathering pecans with his son found the man's skeletal remains.

''We're investigating it as a missing person case,'' said Investigator Mike Westbrooks of the Barrow County Sheriff's Department, the lead investigator on the case. ''We had some early, preliminary leads, but those pretty much fizzled.''

Authorities found about 90 percent of the man's skeleton, but little else, Westbrooks said. The only scrap of clothing investigators found was the elastic waistband of a size 34 pair of Hanes underwear, he said.

Forensic anthropologists at the GBI Crime Lab examined the bones and found no evidence of foul play, Westbrooks said. Investigators are not sure how the man died, he added.

Westbrooks said GBI pathologists believe the man's body was in the woods for six to eight months.

The man is believed to be about 55 to 60 years old and about 5 feet, 6 inches tall, Westbrooks said. Investigators found a piece of brown hair among the man's remains, so the GBI forensic artist gave him graying brown hair, Westbrooks said.

But characteristics of the reconstruction like eye color, hair color and the amount of hair are guesses, Westbrooks said.

''At this point it's speculation,'' Westbrooks said. ''We're hoping someone will recognize the facial features -- the nose, the chin and so forth,'' he added.

Westbrooks also said the man had some cosmetic dental work and a plastic surgical insert just below one eye socket.

''I don't believe he was a homeless person,'' Westbrooks said.

Robinson appealed for help in identifying the man during a news conference Thursday.

''We're asking anyone who might recognize a resemblance to the head to notify the Barrow County Sheriff's Office,'' Robinson said.